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How do you crush the Philidor Defense?

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Archer001

I have a system: Kind of like a mix of the kopec and the ruy lopez

It gives white a good advantage as far I see the game going... 

Anyway here is one of my game. It was a 3 minutes blitz

It ended a win for me, a pretty comfortable game. 

ModestAndPolite

You cannot "crush" the Philidor defence, unless your opponent plays it badly,

The games you have posted show some tactical ability, but are full of very bad mistakes by both players.

Far more useful than learning opening traps (or even sound theoretical lines) and sure to be more effective, would be to concentrate on just improving at chess in general.

AutisticCath

try this--

ModestAndPolite

It is pretty, but it is a standard opening trap that most players learn pretty early and never fall for again.  It only works because Black wilfully ignores almost all the basic principles of opening play (Time wasting - h6, Premature bishop development, general neglect of development, grabbing material) on top of which he also has to fail to calculate the most obvious of elementary tactics (captures and checks all the way).

If all you want to do is score points against novices then by all means play for traps like this, but if you want to become a respectably strong chess player this is not the way to go about it.
AutisticCath
ModestAndPolite wrote:

It is pretty, but it is a standard opening trap that most players learn pretty early and never fall for again.  It only works because Black wilfully ignores almost all the basic principles of opening play (Time wasting - h6, Premature bishop development, general neglect of development, grabbing material) on top of which he also has to fail to calculate the most obvious of elementary tactics (captures and checks all the way).

If all you want to do is score points against novices then by all means play for traps like this, but if you want to become a respectably strong chess player this is not the way to go about it.

OP is sub-1400 in case you haven't noticed.

ModestAndPolite

I did notice.  I still think I gave good advice.

AutisticCath
ModestAndPolite wrote:

I did notice.  I still think I gave good advice.

That, we can agree on happy.png

PeskyGnat

If Black plays that early ..h6 as shown in those last couple of games, then yes, you can expect to crush such a player.

..h6 is just a lemon.

LightningGunne

Go for the Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4). After 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7, you can choose between two setups. 6. Bf4 prepares to castle queenside and launch a vicious kingside attack with the g- and h-pawns, in addition to stopping ...c7-c5 and ...d6-d5 advances. 6. g3 prepares to fianchetto your light-squared bishop where it attacks the central light squares. I don't recommend 6. Be2.

ProfessorThawne
PeskyGnat wrote:

If Black plays that early ..h6 as shown in those last couple of games, then yes, you can expect to crush such a player.

..h6 is just a lemon.

 

h6 is extremely passive

rocketmensch
I like to play the morphy gambit against the Philidor
kindaspongey

Maybe try A Simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Sam Collins
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/A_Simple_Chess_Opening_Repertoire_for_White.pdf
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/A-Simple-Chess-Opening-Repertoire-for-White-76p3916.htm
or My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Vincent Moret
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
or Playing 1.e4 - Caro-Kann, 1...e5 and Minor Lines by John Shaw
http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/Playing1e4CaroKannandothers-excerpt.pdf

xartesit03

he got destroyed

ragedquit

Check this out, if you are an aggressive player.

My opponent blunder a few moves, but that's how I play against Phillidor defense. Risky, yet very rewarding.

Castling queenside. Kingside pawnstorm.

 

squared_1

You can crush the Phillidor, in a short time but your opponent has to play correctly. After your opponent plays d6, you can play Nc3, Opponent: Bg4, then You: Bc4, and your opponent plays g6, you play Nxe5, Bxd1, Bxf7+, Ke7, and then the final move, Nd5#

 

kindaspongey

Has ModestAndPolite been here since 2016?

SwimmerBill

From what I saw you are getting playable games out of the opening but then being outplayed in the transition to middlegame [even dropping pawns].  When black plays something like this, he/she is hitting the brakes on complications. With good play you'll get a small but persistent + that has to be nurtured so your pressure can slowly grow. Often the game is long and you'll go into the endgame with a + where you can slowly grind. Black's chances are that white will press harder than the position merits. My suggestion is:   *** just be patient against it and slowly increase the pressure heading to the endgame. ***   Then sometimes black will err under the pressure and sometimes you'll grind him/her down in the endgame.

Gibbilo
PlaysFairly wrote:

Musikamole wrote:

I am getting way too many Philidor Defenses. Too many! Are there any traps I can set? Any dubious side lines I can play as White to rattle my Philidor friend?

I had an easy time with this one. No traps, just tactics.

 



This opponent is rated higher, and I couldn't get anything out of the opening - plus - I think I hung a pawn somehow in the beginning. I brilliantly exposed my king to checkmate in the end. I let it play out. It was a nice mate to remember, but I want to be the one to deliver it!

 



My last game against the philidor looked like this,  hope something helps.

tbh black was lost the second he played 5...Ke8.  Any philidor player worth his salt knows the queen exchange variations several moves deeper than that.

 

Anyway, to echo what some of the other players here have already said, you can't "crush" it, unless your opponent doesn't actually know how to play the philidor. 

Yes, in some lines black enters the middle game slightly "worse." But ultimately that's the appeal of the defense, is that its really hard to get bamboozled after a certain level of competence (unlike, say, a Sicilian). 

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